WindSwept Narrows: #6 Eve Hastings

by Diroll-Nichols, Karen

  “But I won’t be leaving you, Nick. You and Matthew are such a big part of me…” Alice kissed him warmly. “We’ve already made bets…that we’re all having girls…”

  ****

  “Hey, gorgeous,” Simon grabbed Chloe’s hand and pulled her into his arms. “You guys were fantastic up there.”

  “Anya does great choreography. I love dancing,” Chloe told him, hugging him close. “Home or food and dancing?” Leaning back in his arm and letting her finger trace around his lower lip. “I love you, Simon…thank you for understanding how important this is to me.”

  “I think I’d like to take you home,” Simon guided her toward the exit. “We were having a guy talk while you danced…”

  “Hmm…let me guess…business? Sports? How girls make you nuts?” Bright, happy circles smiled up at him when he stopped at the sports car, blocking her entrance to it.

  “How the thought of becoming a father scares the crap out of us…”

  Chloe swallowed hard, her fingers toying with the front of his shirt.

  “Why do girls think it’s their fault when the birth control fails?” Simon asked quietly, his palm going beneath her chin and tipping her chin up. He groaned softly. “Chloe…my love…tears…I’ve spent slightly over a year with you and having you silent is a very new experience for me.”

  “I…I wasn’t sure how to…or if…”

  “Chloe…if you’re not ready for this…I love you…if it isn’t time, it isn’t time and I understand that. We live in an age that we can change it if it isn’t right for us. And it’s okay…honestly.”

  “I never thought about it, Simon,” she whispered shakily. “I…playing with the kids around us lately has been so…I don’t know…how do you know if you’re ready? I always thought I’d love having a baby…”

  “Then we’re going to be parents, Chloe…and you’re going to be the most fantastic mom a kid could have,” Simon told her sincerely. “If we only want one, I’ll get snipped and we won’t have to worry again.”

  “I love you, Simon Oliver,” she felt the tears flowing down her cheeks, her arms around his neck and his body absorbing the shudder that raced through her. “You’re going to be a wonderful daddy…”

  ****

  Kate was brushing the short cap of dark brown when she saw Dylan come up behind her. Her smile beamed at him into the mirror.

  “Wasn’t that grand? I can’t wait for the next one…”

  “When is the next one, Kate?” Dylan took the bag from the floor, his other hand gripping hers as they walked through the lodge. He watched her head swivel, taking in all the costumes of the people attending the benefit.

  “Next month. We have a wonderful Christmas performance planed for several of the holiday fairs around the Sound,” Kate went on excitedly, noticing the small package in his hand for the first time. “What’s that?”

  “Our baby’s first stuffed animal,” Dylan answered, dropping her bag by the car and offering it to her. He laughed at the look on her face when she took the bag and peeked inside seconds before she threw her arms up and circled his neck tightly. “Why didn’t you tell me, Kate?”

  “I wanted to be sure,” she whispered shakily, an amazing warmth spreading through her in his arms. “I didn’t want to be wrong…Anya confirmed it for me yesterday, Dylan.”

  “We wanted this…but I still can’t wrap my head around it…”

  ****

  Samantha took her bag to the SUV, striding back into the lodge and looking around for Logan. She found him sitting in the lounge, his palms wrapped around a tall glass of something with a lot of ice. She put her arms around him from behind.

  “I put my bag in the car,” she let him reposition them, moving between his knees and putting her hands on his shoulders. “Food, dancing and general debauchery?”

  “You girls made a very synchronized dance, Sam…” Logan told her proudly, his smile never wavering since he heard the news.

  “Anya is good at the choreography…really good…I’m glad you calmed down about the costume, Logan. They really are well made and constructed in such a way that we’re covered,” Sam drew her finger along his lower lip. “Why are you smiling? It’s a…”

  “It’s a male smile,” Logan said honestly. “Comes from a guy conversation we had while our girls were performing.”

  “Hmm…I’m afraid to ask…” Sam leaned her arms along his shoulders. “It’s a very handsome, happy smile…so I don’t care. Anything I can do to relieve the stress of being a mogul…”

  “You’re a delightful tease, Samantha…but I had read somewhere that expecting women were incredibly amorous…” Logan loved the wide eyes and blush of pink tinting her cheeks. “When were you going to tell me, Sam?”

  “I…I was working up to it…with the resort opening and all the…”

  “Samantha…you will never…ever…take a backseat to anything…” His palms moved to frame her face, one thumb brushing the tear that eased from her eyes. “And neither will our child…or children…”

  “You’re so good with Scarlet, Logan…I just wasn’t sure…the timing…I know we haven’t been together that long and…”

  “We have a lifetime, my sweet…a long, long lifetime…” He promised huskily. “Let’s go home.”

  ****

  Cassidy had her bag quickly packed and wandered to find Mac, welcoming the kiss. “Did you see? It was fantastic! All that practice paid off,” she said, walking with him to a quiet table. “Where’d everyone go?”

  Mac sat back on the bench seat and pulled her back against him, holding her close. “There seems to be a bit of baby fever going around…”

  She slid slightly to the side to peer back at him, frowning. “How did you…?”

  “Is it true?”

  Cassidy nodded slowly. “The girls are a little nervous…maybe a little scared…oops are never an easy thing to deal with…but none of us like the pill, so…I know Dylan and Kate chose to stop using protection…”

  “It’s a little mind blowing to think about,” Mac admitted solemnly.

  “I know there’s always the after pill…I know I really love my job right now and I’m not ready for that kind of change,” Cassidy leaned safely into the strong arms around her.

  “Cass…we’ve talked about it. We have more than enough friends with kids we can borrow them any time. I’m okay with being an uncle, and I honestly mean that,” Mac dropped a kiss on her shoulder.

  “It’s a scary thing, Mac…a tiny little life growing inside us…maybe it’s not so frightening to a guy…”

  “Oh…I don’t know about that…there were some stunned, scared looking guys at the table ten minutes ago,” Mac said with a sigh. “It’s a little like having Scarlet over…we’re responsible for her…everything…it’s a totally new experience, even for the guy part of the couple.”

  “For what it’s worth,” Cassidy turned in his arms, her mouth warm over his. “I believe you’ll make a wonderful dad one day…”

  Both looked up when the name was shouted through the crowd.

  “Anya!” Emily came running from the side, whispering hastily to Anya. All of them went running behind the large stage.

  Zach had been pacing, waiting for Eve to come from the back of the stage area when Anya grabbed his palm and pulled him after her.

  “Eve!” Zach was on the floor beside her, watching as Anya checked her over. He saw her place the stethoscope on the flat plain of her stomach, listening and taking the cold cloth Ian brought to her. She swiped gently over Eve’s face, sitting back on her heels when the dark lashes fluttered.

  “Ohhhh…” Eve opened her eyes slowly, frowning and gazing around at all the faces. “Uh-oh…”

  Anya went off for a long minute, several eyebrows arched at the foreign, but quite emphatic words.

  “She said if you don’t eat, she’s going to lock you up somewhere,” Mac said with a chuckle. “That she can’t handle eight months of you passing out.”

>   Anya accepted the palm that pulled her to her feet, tucking the stethoscope inside her bag and shaking her head.

  “Take her home, Zach and feed her,” Anya told him firmly, walking off with Ian close to her side.

  Eve sighed and climbed to her feet, Zach’s palm tightly around hers. “I’m okay…I know, I should have had the dinner…but I was so excited about the dance tonight,” she lifted her tote from the floor and smiled at him. “Did you see us? We were great!”

  “I watched and you were all fantastic,” Zach took the cloak from her hands and wrapped it around her, holding her close for a minute before helping her into the SUV. “Did you hear what Anya told you, Eve?” He asked after he’d started the car, sending heat around them.

  “I know, I know…eat…okay…how about fish and chips?” She said abruptly, turning to the side.

  “Fish and chips?” Zach looked over at her.

  “Yes…that little place near the house. And a big serving of cole slaw,” Eve settled back, her head against the rest behind her. “That was so much fun. I can’t wait for the next one.”

  Zach drove through the dark streets, listening to her sing along with the radio. “The next exhibition?”

  “Yes. Dancing is so much fun. This was probably the last one for a little while for Isabel, though.”

  “I heard you’ll be losing a couple of your dancers because of babies.”

  “How’d you know that?” Eve twined her fingers with his when his palm came to rest on her knee.

  “Guys have secrets…”

  “Huh…Kate is excited…so excited…she and Dylan stopped using birth control a couple months back. I think she’ll tell him tonight. We were talking about it….we’re glad we’re not in the dark ages. And they can stop if….if they wanted to…if it just wasn’t the right time. I think Chloe is the most surprised…or Anya…Sam is worried…she’s not sure Logan is at a baby stage yet. Alice is a little concerned, but Anya did tell them all she can easily do band-aid surgery if they want to avoid birth control in the future when they have their baby or two. And no more worries about birth control.”

  “And you?”

  “Me? I’m not pregnant,” she said with a shrug. “It’s the reason I had the note in our original agreement. When I…after the not eating or sleeping and losing weight, Julia told me I botched up my period. It’s why I don’t have one. She said it might come back if I would eat normally…but it’s alright. I got a school full of kids to play with,” she said with a firm nod, swiping at the tear on her cheek.

  “Eve…” Zach stopped the SUV by the restaurant. “I’ll run in and we’ll take this stuff home.”

  “Good idea…we can have a picnic in front of the fire.”

  Zach carried the food into the house, watching Eve digging fries out of the bag on the ride home. She ran to the back and quickly changed into her pajamas before spreading a large quilt on the floor and sinking next to the food. He continued to watch her attack the cole slaw with relish and genuine hunger. Something he had never seen out of his wife. He leaned against the sofa, one knee raised. She sat cross legged across from him, squeezing lemon on her fish.

  Eve looked up after a bite of fish. “You’re not hungry?”

  “I’m deep in thought…” He began carefully.

  “Oh? Interesting guy talk while we were dancing?”

  “Hmm…a little of that. Guys discussing how it was a little scary to discover you were going to be a father,” Zach suddenly realized she hadn’t heard anything Anya had said after she’d been told to eat.

  “I guess…not quite as frightening as knowing you have a little life growing inside you,” she breathed in amazement, her head shaking slowly. “It would feel almost magical, Zach.”

  “Eve…Anya said you are pregnant,” Zach sat upright immediately, the look on her face open denial.

  “I…she said maybe…” Her head shook slowly.

  “Eve…I was there…” Zach moved the plates and pulled her onto his lap, holding her in his arms. “She put the stethoscope on your stomach and listened while you were out. She said for me to make you eat because she didn’t want to spend the next eight months reviving you because you don’t eat.”

  “Zach…” Eve looked at him, eyes watery.

  “Honey…you haven’t noticed things are a little rounder?” He moved his palm gently over her side and onto the flat of her stomach. “It is magical, Eve.”

  “Emily was complaining my costume didn’t fit right anymore…” She looked from his palm to his face, her eyes growing larger. She threw herself against him, arms around his neck as the tears fell freely. Eve heard him murmuring against her throat, his palm stroking gently over her head while the other just held her tightly against him.

  “Even if the guy doesn’t have the same kind of…involvement…it’s a scary idea, Eve…a baby…we made a baby,” he whispered against her ear.

  Eve pushed against his chest, scrambled to her knees and slid onto his lap facing him, her hands on his face. “I love you…very much, Zach Covington…but I’m hungry.”

  “Never let it be said I starved the mother of my child,” he said, his grin broad as he tumbled her back onto the quilt, her large eyes sparkling.

  But Eve straightened and crawled forward, pinning him against the sofa. “You do realize…that I still need tingles…maybe even more than ever,” she whispered against his mouth, taking him on a long, slow ride before backing up and returning to her food. “I’ve heard tell that hormones can make a girl crazy mad for her guy during this time…”

  “Crazy mad, huh?” Zach repeated with a deep laugh, reaching for a slice of fish and biting down. “Suddenly I feel like a teenager again…”

  Thank you for reading Eve Hastings. Your next step to follow along in the storyline will be Francine Kendall. A wisp-like blonde who is on contract for the moment with both the WindSwept Narrows Resort and Casino and HealthCare Center attached to it. She loses shoes, loves old-style dresses and generally runs everywhere in the underground passages between the two.

  I hope you enjoy and continue to follow the story through romance, fun, laughter and a few tears. Enjoy!